1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ad-hoc mode supported in a wireless network system. More particularly, the present invention relates to the enabling of a routing protocol to effectively operate in an ad-hoc mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among the wireless network systems, the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard is generally designed to support two modes of operation.
The first mode is an infrastructure mode in which terminals (e.g. stations, mobile nodes, etc.) can communicate with each other using an Access Point (AP). The other mode is an ad-hoc mode in which terminals can communicate with each other without an AP.
In the infrastructure mode, the terminals operate as hosts and the AP operates as a router that uses the same protocol as Inter AP Protocol (IAPP) of the IEEE 802.11f standard.
In contrast, in the ad-hoc mode, the terminals must directly communicate with each other because the AP is not used.
More specifically, in the ad-hoc mode each terminal must operate as a host and a router. Due to mobility and limited power that are characteristic of the terminals, the terminals based on the ad-hoc mode are distinguished from those based on the infrastructure mode.
In the ad-hoc mode, the mobility and limited power resources of any particular node (or terminal) make it difficult to communicate with the other terminals.
Thus, a special routing protocol reflecting features of the ad-hoc mode is required. Recently, a study has been made of on-demand routing protocols such as an Ad-hoc On-demand Distance Vector (ADOV) routing protocol (IETF RFC 3561) and a Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) Protocol (IETF RFC 4728). However, there remains a need for a routing protocol that addresses the needs of an ad-hoc infrastructure.